Our entire focus is on helping your child beat their disease and thrive. Each year we care for many babies, children, teens and young adults with these conditions. Some are just starting their first cancer treatment. Others have refractory, relapsed or recurrent disease.

If your child’s leukemia has features that make it harder to treat or more likely to come back after treatment, they will get advanced care from our High Risk Leukemia Program.

What’s special about the Leukemia and Lymphoma Program at Seattle Children’s?

We treat more young people with leukemia and lymphoma than any other hospital in our region. Our patients have access to treatments that are not available at most centers.

Because doctors at Seattle Children’s are leaders in cancer research, our patients have access to the very latest treatments being studied, including Phase 1 clinical trials. These early studies are especially important if your child’s cancer does not respond well to treatment or comes back. Your child’s team works hard to find the best research study for your child.

At Seattle Children’s, options include:

Reprogramming the body’s infection-fighting T cells to find and destroy cancer cells in children and teens with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and some forms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. More than 90% of the children in our PLAT-02, Phase 1 study achieved initial remission. Of the children who achieved initial remission, about 50% are still in remission 1 year after therapy. Read more about T-cell immunotherapy for leukemia.

Fighting relapsed AML with a new anticancer medicine (CPX-351) designed to kill leukemia cells while limiting damage to the heart. Dr. Todd Cooper leads this national COG study.

Monoclonal antibodies that target specific proteins (receptors) on lymphoma or leukemia cells and help kill the cancer cells.

Seattle Children’s provides the most advanced treatments in our region. Our experience helps us recommend the right treatment at the right time to have the best results.

Some children with leukemia or lymphoma need very high doses of chemotherapy medicines and a stem cell transplant to replace the body’s system for making blood cells. We offer stem cell transplants through our partner Fred Hutch. Doctors at Fred Hutch pioneered this lifesaving procedure more than 30 years ago.

Our childhood cancer doctors (pediatric oncologists) meet regularly with transplant doctors to talk about each high-risk patient’s case and make a plan. The plan includes:

How to get your child’s disease in remission

The best kind of transplant for your child

How to reduce the risk of cancer coming back

This type of planning by a group of experts sets Seattle Children’s apart from most childhood cancer centers.

Our doctors are national and international leaders in finding and testing new treatments to improve cure rates for leukemia and lymphoma. We are a founding member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG).

Dr. Soheil Meshinchi’s roles with COG include chairman of the COG AML biology committee, director of the COG AML reference laboratory and co-chair of the COG Myeloid Disease Committee. He is the principal investigator for the TARGET AML Initiative to define genetic and other factors that cause AML and allow it to grow and spread. The project is a joint effort by the National Cancer Institute and COG.

We don’t just treat your child’s cancer. Your family has a full team behind you. We care for your child’s medical, physical, learning, emotional and comfort needs. Read more about the supportive care we offer.

We know teens and young adults with cancer have different challenges than children and older adults. Our Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program (AYA) focuses on their needs. We help teens and young adults protect their fertility if treatment might harm their ability to become parents.

Long after cancer is gone, we check on your child’s health and watch for possible long-term side effects from treatment. Read more about our Cancer Survivor Program.

We have worked with many families from around the country and the world. Whether you live nearby or far away, we can help with financial counseling, schooling, housing, transportation, interpreter services and spiritual care. Read about our services for patients and families.

Who is on the Leukemia and Lymphoma team?

Meet the doctors who care for children and teens in our Leukemia and Lymphoma Program.

Contact Us

If a doctor at another hospital or clinic has diagnosed leukemia or lymphoma in your child or teen, you can request a second opinion at Seattle Children’s. A second opinion is a chance to confirm the features of your child’s disease and the best treatment options. At Seattle Children’s, your child’s options may include treatment in a study that is not offered everywhere.

Schedule an appointment

To make an appointment, you can call us directly or get a referral from your child’s primary care provider.

We encourage you to coordinate with your pediatrician or family doctor when coming to Seattle Children’s.

Seattle Children’s complies with applicable federal and other civil rights laws and does not discriminate, exclude people or treat them differently based on race, color, religion (creed), sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin (ancestry), age, disability, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Financial assistance for medically necessary services is based on family income and hospital resources and is provided to children under age 21 whose primary residence is in Washington, Alaska, Montana or Idaho.